Your Majesty, please do not disturb, the empress only wants to engage in business

Chapter 166 Using Reputation

"That may be true, but there are many things that do not require the Empress's personal attention. In such a large palace, if you have to do everything yourself, even if you had three heads and six arms, you still couldn't manage it."

The Empress Dowager has always been outspoken. People who are not familiar with her probably think that her personality is decisive and efficient, a directness honed in the bloody and cruel court struggles of the past.

However, a few people always knew that it was probably because they had spent so much time being subservient in the palace that they naturally became more unrestrained now that they were no longer constrained.

Not to mention that as the emperor's birth mother, she could say anything in front of these daughters-in-law, as long as it wasn't something truly inappropriate.

Since her own family had no one in the harem, Empress Dowager Xu was naturally able to treat all the concubines equally. However, no matter how equally she treated them, there was still a hierarchy of status in the palace.

Empress Shen goes without saying; she is Empress Dowager Xu's legitimate daughter-in-law. What the relationship between the two women is like in private is ultimately a private matter. On the surface, the Empress Dowager and the Empress still have to give each other face.

Consort Rong also had a powerful family and the emperor's favor, so Empress Dowager Xu also doted on her.

Unlike in the common people's court, women in the imperial harem could not openly discuss many things when they gathered together, and there was even less to say on such a solemn occasion.

Everyone had an unspoken understanding that even two people who didn't get along well wouldn't clash in such a setting. So for a while, the main hall was filled with the concubines chatting and laughing among themselves.

Granny Yu stood not far behind Empress Dowager Xu, her eyelids twitching every now and then.

Having served the Empress Dowager for many years, although she maintained a consistently cold demeanor towards her on the surface, Granny Yu was the one who understood the Empress Dowager's thoughts best.

In such an occasion, how could the Empress Dowager possibly want to see such a harmonious scene? With so many concubines sitting below, treating each other with utmost respect, there was no liveliness at all. If they continued to sit there so harmoniously, the Empress Dowager would probably fall asleep—of course, it wouldn't be that exaggerated, but now that Empress Dowager Xu had personally stepped in to sow discord between the Empress and the Imperial Concubine, it was clear that she was genuinely bored.

Once the Empress Dowager spoke, there was no reason for the lower-ranking concubines to continue speaking. Starting with Consort Zhao, the lower-ranking concubines immediately shut their mouths, fearing that they might run into the Empress Dowager's line of fire.

Although the Empress vaguely sensed that the Empress Dowager's tone was somewhat off, it was not convenient for anyone present to speak at the moment. If she did not respond and let the Empress Dowager's words fall to the ground, the scene would probably not be very pleasant.

So Shen Qingyin nodded slightly and followed the Empress Dowager's lead, saying, "Thank you for your consideration, Mother. Managing the affairs of the six palaces is what I should do. It is already very kind of Consort Zhuang and the others to share some of the trivial matters with me. It is not right to ask them to do everything."

Before the words had even finished, the Empress Dowager chimed in, "That's quite true. In the end, as concubines, their duty is to accompany His Majesty and produce many offspring for the royal family. Speaking of which, so many new concubines have been in the palace for quite some time now, yet there's been no progress."

Weren't all these concubines chosen in the first place precisely to fill the emperor's harem?

But now, there are only a few children in the palace, and not even many pregnant concubines. This is not the situation the Empress Dowager wants to see.

However, when you put it another way, the problem doesn't actually lie with the Queen.

Shen Qingyin was surprised that the Empress Dowager hadn't scolded her when she heard Empress Dowager Xu say those words, and she immediately understood what Empress Dowager Xu meant.

The old lady's true intentions were not what they seemed; she was using this important day of paying respects to embarrass the Imperial Concubine. There had been quite a few rumors circulating in the palace lately, especially about the Imperial Concubine's generosity and how she was bringing her honor. Shen Qingyin heard these words, but didn't really take them to heart.

No matter what Consort Rong did in the harem, she never violated etiquette. However, the Duke's mansion had immense power outside. In the harem, she could still put on airs like an empress, but outside, ten Shen families couldn't withstand one Duke's mansion.

Even with the Duke's mansion's immense power today, she still had to defer to Consort Rong, even in the inner palace.

Furthermore, she was well aware of Chen Yimiao's personality.

At least half of her heart was devoted to the emperor. In fact, Chen Yimiao herself posed no threat to her position as empress. It was only because her family background was too prominent that she had reached a position where she could rival the empress.

Given the current situation in the harem, Shen Qingyin is unsure whether Emperor Xie Yun'an orchestrated it intentionally, but Chen Yimiao probably doesn't really have any desire to vie for power.

Xie Yun'an liked her for her lack of competitiveness and non-competition, regardless of her private behavior, at least on the surface.

Such a person, who never openly competes or fights, can only remain silent when faced with the Empress Dowager Xu's implicit questioning.

"I know that although the Emperor has his own thoughts, now that you have entered the palace, you should also think more about your own future."

Since Chen Yimiao did not respond, Empress Dowager Xu, having no direct target for her attack, turned her attention to everyone present.

Although Xie Yun'an doesn't usually summon concubines and spends more time in the Noble Consort's palace, the Emperor will definitely have to obey his mother's wishes after the Empress Dowager speaks today, so as not to let the Empress Dowager lose face.

And everyone already understands what the Empress Dowager meant today.

After being subtly mocked by the Empress Dowager, the Imperial Concubine obediently sat down at the back and didn't utter another sound.

Perhaps Empress Dowager Xu also felt that the concubine, who was as soft as cotton, was uninteresting, so she turned her attention to others.

One by one, the people present talked about the past, some showing concern for the children, others urging the emperor to accompany them. It was quite remarkable that Empress Dowager Xu could remember so many people she had only met once or twice.

People like Qiao Yanran and He Yunqing were also given special attention by the Empress Dowager. Perhaps because Yao Jinse already had a daughter, the Empress Dowager didn't urge her much.

Yao Jinse and the others listened to the Empress Dowager's instructions from below, occasionally offering a few words of reply. They sat like this for about half an hour before the Empress Dowager finally felt a little tired and ordered the people below to disperse.

Consort Zhuang and the Empress naturally returned to the Empress's Palace together. Consort Gui was also a little tired after sitting for so long, so she went back first without summoning Yao Jinse to come with her. Yao Jinse led Bai Tan along the path in the Imperial Garden and headed back to Yuxiu Palace, but her mind was still on what the Empress Dowager had said today.

Thinking about it carefully, the Empress Dowager's actions today seem somewhat like an attempt to salvage the Empress's reputation.